Florida’s triple overtime victory over Kentucky last weekend might have been uneasy for fans watching at home, but it was an exciting game from recruits in attendance.
They saw The Swamp at its best, and the crowd made a big impression on cornerback Jeremy McDuffie.
“It was a real live atmosphere,” he said. “The fans were great. Hearing all those chants and the pride that they had was real cool. It was a loud game.”
The Gators gave up 369 yards passing against UK, the most they’ve allowed since 2007. Those struggles in the secondary was a welcomed sight for McDuffie.
“I definitely saw an opportunity,” he said. “The defense didn’t play to the best of their potential. They have a lot of young DB’s, and I saw Jalen Tabor had to come in when Vernon Hargreaves got hurt. So they give you a chance as a freshman to play.”
That’s one of the reasons why McDuffie, who was offered by UF in June, currently has the Gators leading for his services.
“Florida is a great school for football and track, as well as academics,” he said. “I also like their cornerback situation. They play six DB’s most of the time, and that just adds to the opportunity to get on the field.”
The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder plans to visit Ole Miss, Tennessee and a couple other schools before making his decision.
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Welcome to gator country Jeremy! We need you!
Post-Alabamabeatdown, there certain appears loads of opportunity ahead to win playing time at Florida. No pass rush, busted coverages, losing our two decent OL and another starter, big need for WRs and TEs. Welcome aboard, anyone.
Re: Jeremy McDuffie, an articulate young man, great athlete, focusing on his two sports and academics. Would love to have you become a Gator, young man. Things look bad tonight yet brighter soon. You can be a big part of a winning future as a Gator.
What can UF offer to a kid like this ? I see 6-6 records for a while. Florida is getting left behind. It’s having a hard time beating out UGA , Bama , Auburn for home grown kids. Come on Gator fan give me something. Am I correct … Again
After what was witnessed on the field against Alabama and Kentucky the last two weeks, it’s going to be an uphill climb for Florida to get any of the top guys like Cowart, Ivey, Jefferson, etc. to say yes. Like George Campbell, who was supposedly leaning heavily to Florida at one time, they might have second thought about going to a team that is inept as the Gators appear to be right now. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the next game at Tennessee is critical. IF UF loses, Muschamp may not be fired immediately, but he will be a dead man walking.
As I rummage through the debris post Bama, I can’t help but remember feeling last year we had no shot at beating Bama. Yet some how halfway through the 3rd quarter I felt, maybe…..despite Driskel’s flaws we might. A better Saftey and maybe we could even have been leading. The bottom line is we are better this year and suspect will be even more so next year. We are a couple of second level guys and a Qb away from beating The top 4. Let’s all just chill. Why Harris did not get in the game at the end is beyond me.
I agree with Bluff City to include questioning why the same inept DB’s continue to play (yes, I know the same can be said for Driskel)?
I want to see every young DB we have playing moving forward. What is the worst thing that could happen? We give up 600+ yards?
I have run out of excuses for Driskel, he clearly does not and will not get it.
Let’s rotate Harris and Grier and use Driskel as a change of pace only moving forward.
Barring a dramatic turnaround the balance of the season, Muschamp is gone anyway.
I don’t know where to start. The most frustrating thing to see is that FLORIDA has the talent excluding QB and HBC to not only compete but actually beat teams like bama. Blake Sims was recruited as an Athlete. But y’all tell me who was making their 4th start & 1st SEC start and who was making their 19th start. From everything I’ve seen of JD he seems like a great young man with a bright future in life , however he is simply not the man to lead the gators at QB. Get Harris ready now how long does it take to see JD is not the guy yesterday was his 5th carrier game under 100yds passing Spurrier for sure and probably Meyer would not have let it get to two games under 100 yds PASSING. How is that even possible in today’s football?
I still don’t think Alabama is a great team. I see them losing a couple of games during the regular season. Think about it, how many teams do you see turn the ball over four times and still win the game? To do so and still clobber Florida is an indication of how bad Florida is, not a sign of how good Alabama is. Alabama just did what a team should normally do, beat a bad team badly at home. I j just wonder what is going to happen with Adonis Thomas. He didn’t make it to the game, but he’s probably seriously reconsidering his choice to go to Florida right now, especially if Alabama still has room for him.
A couple of ways a recruit could look at, to use a certain Sun columnist’s favorite phrase, the “dumpster fire” that is UF football now: 1) Opportunity for early playing time, at just about every position, or 2) The coaching here is poor and I’d rather go to a program that can better prepare me for the pros. As a Gator fan, I’m hoping for the former. Certainly better quarterback play would go a long way toward instilling the belief that the offense is heading the right way, but the defense, with all of its blown assignments and ineffective pass-rush scheming, is not something that can be dismissed as one player’s bad day. And I don’t mean to pick on JD. Here’s hoping he gets things figured out quickly.
The notion that Available playing time at Florida is not enough to lure the good ones to a losing and almost DEAD football program. I saw a post last week say “we are fast becoming the NEW UTenn. Sure the defense gave up points and yardage, but they were the one’s to score two touchdowns and set up the third. Being on the Field all day will drain you. All the three and outs, 6 plays in the third quarter (two three and outs) that means the D was on the field against a power running team. I can live with the YOUNG secondary making mistakes (freshmen and Sophomores). Defense will be corrected, JD has not improved any. Someone posted “give JD a Break” and posted his record. JD has gotten ALL the breaks, two other QB’s have left and gone to Boston College (undefeated) and North Carolina State (undefeated) those were the Breaks JD were given, and here we sit had to go into 3 OTs to beat Kentucky. Wake up!! He doesn’t have it. GO GATORS!!!!
I had to miss the game and am just now watching it…and I am dumbfounded to see our guys getting abused this way. I am AGAIN noticing something, and I’ve mentioned it in previous posts over the past few years: With JD we always seem to end up right back where we started! Year after year (see Creek Gator’s post above), we’re AGAIN back to square one –> unsettled at QB. I understand Coach Muschamp’s predicament, I understand his connection with JD, however, at this point, we have to take our chances with someone else and prepare this program’s future NOW – its the honorable thing to do. Our setbacks in recruiting (missing on Gator ‘leans’ and offensive play makers) are now quite obvious and this year’s ‘must haves’ (we all know who they are) – should factor in on what direction Foley goes. Get the young guys on the field. I will continue to support Coach Muschamp, however I believe his earlier decisions that have contributed to our recruiting woes will ultimately undo him. Aux2, your vision is much better than mine…I humbly apologize for questioning you and your insight. LUV UF!
JD is running slower than I’ve ever seen him run before. Now on top of that he is throwing 1 or 2 INT a game. Time to let the backs up have a chance. 11-2 year he was faster runner and still a bad passer. The three balls he threw well resulted in a TD, a dropped ball, and hit a Debose in the head blinded by the sun.
Champ said he gave us the “best chance to win.” Three minutes left in the forth Qrt of a blow out and no Harris. Early in the third we three back to back runs all with no fakes, no screen pass, no hot routs or boot leg with pocket in motion.
Sitting in the stadium and watching the game it seemed like it was 56-0 (scoreboard aside). The Alabama fans were painfully sympathetic and content that we simply were not a threat at any point in that game (even when we were ahead). I would guess that recruits see the same thing. Why would a great defensive prospect come here when he will play for a team that will not score points and put the D in one bad spot after another? Why would a great Offensive prospect come here to stand on the sidelines and watch this mess?
Unbelievable!
Watching this team is frustrating. in 2011 we did not have the athletes to win against bama. However we have them now, but UF is weak at the two most important positions QB & HC. We have a guy who should have never been hired you just don’t bring a coach at UF that’s never been a HC at any level. And to make things worse he is so stubborn with an inapt QB. Personally I know JD is going to great at what ever he does in life as long as its not QB for UF he just does not have it. The young man seems to be a good person and you know he is smart (he a good student at UF) but we have to run the bulldog out of town would love to keep Mike Peterson, Chris Leak, T-Rob & Roper as OC though.
Derek Why would you want to keep any coach on the current staff. For instance, what has Roper done? The offense is still horrible. As for Robinson, the secondary is couldn’t be any worse. Leak? The receivers still can’t even ctch the ball. Peterson? What does he even do? No, if Muschamp is fired, it’s time to fire everyone and not saddle the new coach with any leftovers from the old regime. If the new coach wants to hire one of them, fine, but that should be his decision, not a condition of getting hired that he will have to work with holdovers from the last staff.
Time to give the freshmen qb’s some playing time. JD has had more than enough time to show improvement and it has not happened. That performance was just embarrassing.
I get your point aux2, and I can’t say anything for Peterson or Leak just the gator fan in me for #29 & #12 96 & 06 both champs but you are right on that T-Rob seems to be a great recruiter and is well established in south FL but coaching skills might be another story. Roper on the other hand I feel can be just what we need he is just be limited by our HC. Also Zach great article on “Coddling our QB” factual and on point. Also my fellow gators take it form someone that lives in B’Ham AL before the game tide fans were complaining about how bad their secondary was along with having 0 INT’S in 3 games. Now after JD they are talking like they the legion of boom.
Jeremy McDuffie sounds like a great Gator kind of guy. I sure hope that he chooses to get his degree at UF.
When you have a great receiver and the QB makes a good throw, it’s almost always a completed pass even vs a five star DB. When that receiver is wide open on a busted coverage by the defense, it’s like stealin’…… Recruiters can recruit a great potential HS player. Coaches can coach him up and teach him the defense. He can demonstrate that he has it down in practice. But if the player fails to show up and do his assignments on game day, who’s fault is it? With the young guys, all you can do is continue to coach them up, but I’m beginning to wonder about Gorman…
The long standing problem I see with any program including UF’s is this. You have 100+ on the roster. You have 60-70 that are talented enough to play. You have coaches that will only put 30-40 on the field on game day, literally tying one hand behind their own backs imoho. The ole ‘STARS & scrubs’ attitude is NOT a ‘TEAM’ – but it is a good path to the unemployment line. :~(( — Where is T.Harris – W.Grier – Adam Lane – D.Goolsby – M.Stephens – D.L.Powell — T.Holley – T.Bryan – A.Anzalone – M.Harris – N.Washington – D.Porter. Telling me that the D was tired in the 4th, while you have 20-30 on the bench in clean jerseys just ain’t gettin’ it done imoho.
And oh btw — Put C.Green back at RT and play D.Sharpe at LT. D.Cummings goes to backup, J.Bostwick to start in his place. Cummings is good for a 15 yd personal foul and 2 offsides per game. I’d play him, but he’s not starter quality, at least not right now…. (of course, all of that could just be more phool’s gole and ignorant fan drivel) ;~))
PS
Keep on sending the Shameous Jameous type recruits to Clown-U, where they will fit right in…
I am going to lay off you guys. It is no fun anymore. It is more fun when Gator Fan is arrogant and cocky. I will wait for that day to come again . So I am going to sign off and I am sure it will be a good riddance from you.
Please try and beat UGA so I can come back on and digest the great feats of our Heisman winner and the accomplishments of this powerhouse that will be representing the state of Florida
I am not sure that everyone watched the same game that I did. What I saw was a gutsy performance from a team that was out manned from the get go. The first half was a powerhouse struggle and in the end they put it to us. The problem I see with the recruits is not the play of our team or the coaches. If I was a recruit the last team I would want to play for is the one with the biggest whining babies as “fans”. You want quality recruits start acting like you care. Instead of ripping us apart.
I have followed the Gators since 68 and throughout all of the lean years I have never seen the fans so ready to kill their own future program. Are we struggling now? Yes! Are we supportive? Hell no! I for one will support this team through thick and thin. the rest of you can go to FSU with James.
da-muddler I don’t think you can just put a bunch of true freshmen in and expect them to be able to play. Maybe Harris, since Driskel is pathetic, but the rest probably aren’t ready to play. By the way, Holley is out for the season with an injury. I don’t know about putting Green back at right tackle, he looked pretty bad against Alabama while the redshirt freshman, Roderick Johnson did a pretty good job. No, except for possibly a quarterback, there are no shiny knights sitting on the bench just awaiting the call to rescue Florida. It is up to the current players, either they improve greatly or Florida will be a bad team this year.Tennessee has a lot of puppies on their team, let’s hope they aren’t weaned by the time UF goes to Knoxville or this season could turn ugly in a hurry.
“The long standing problem I see with any program including UF’s is this.”
Dude, the problem is the head coach, period. Until that changes, we suck.
GET SOME RECEIVERS THAT CAN CATCH A FOOTBALL.. Jeff is not all the problem. Look at the game again and see how bad the receivers are, the can not catch air in a jug. Look at the drops , the 1st inter, 6 point on amissed catch catch that was in his hands… Give Jeff a break and look at the receiver problem. Go zach..
sc gator,
You are correct. The QB is not the problem, however, his play has been problematic. The problem is the head coach who in his fourth year looks lost on both sides of the ball. The past two weeks we have gotten the same rhetoric – we will fix the problems. When will this be – perhaps against Eastern Kentucky?
As for the QB, he was absolutely horrible against Bama. His deep balls are just thrown as jump balls. His decisions flat out stink, but I am not sure throwing in a true freshamn is the answer, but what can it hurt. As far as your receivers comment, the head coach has had ample time to recruit and coach players at this position. But I am sure he will fix this as well.
As I have said many times over, UF should not be the place to learn on the job to becoming a head coach. Horrible, horrible hire by Foley. One can only hope he is polishing up his short list….
A guy Florida wants, Javarious Davis has decommitted from North Carolina. It probably means he’s coming to Florida.
QB-DT Sheriron Jones 6-2 189 4.5/40 – CA — 2 Games: P 43 of 63, 68% for 832 yds, 19.4 yds/comp, 10 TD’s.
aux2 — “I don’t think you can just put a bunch of true freshmen in and expect them to be able to play.”
*In the first game of the season, UF played 31 underclassmen, 18 that were true freshmen. Of course, they only helped the team go 65-0 in that game. Freshmen ‘at all positions’ have a long history of becoming stars, but they never do that from a bench. Go check your Gator football history on freshmen players. I know them, but you really need to look them up for yourself. Also, who has the best chance on making a play, a tired, beat-up 2-3 year players, or a very hungry Fr, especially on the defense?
aux2 — “I don’t know about putting Green back at right tackle, he looked pretty bad against Alabama.”
*And they had him playing out of position at LT vs UA, thanks for helping to make my point for me.
aux2 — “No, except for possibly a quarterback, there are no shiny knights sitting on the bench just awaiting the call to rescue Florida.”
*Refer back to the first game and to long standing UF history. Please stop saying dumb/ignorant stuff…
Mushmouth — “Dude, the problem is the head coach, period. Until that changes, we suck.”
*However, 13 SEC Head Coaches have voted Will the SEC CoY, so who do we believe, you – or them???
s c gator — “Jeff is not all the problem”
*But he’s certainly a part of the problem. Besides, anyone can have a bad day/game, and that’s why you have more than 1 player at any position. Not using Harris on the last series or 2 vs UA was a coaching mistake imoho. They have 60-70 on the roster with the talent level to play. Stars & Scrubs ain’t gettin’ it done, they need to develop and PLAY an entire TEAM. ==================
QB-DT Sheriron Jones 6-2 189 4.5/40 – CA — 2 Games: P 43 of 63, 68% for 832 yds, 19.4 yds/comp, 10 TD’s.
*Little shimmy wisher, AMF. Parting Shot:
Five Star, Elite 11 QB’s don’t always pan out, on and/or off the field.
Criminole Shame-us Jameous is now on his 5th FUBAR,,, continuing the SNAFU,,, or should that be SNAFSU… (situation normal at FSU)
IMOHO, the Heisman committee deserves the total embarrassments that have resulted.
They went from Tim Tebow to sCam Newton, to Money Manziel, to 5x loser Shameous Jameous. A serious and steep downhill slide if ever there was one. Proving to me that the Heisman Trophy no longer has even a semblance of ‘CHARACTER’ to the award.
However, the Criminoles finally decided that it was time to suspend him for at least the first half of one game on his 5th incident. Then public and press pressure eventually made them extend that to at least 1 full game. Now that’s some tough criminole discipline in action right there…
He is being trained to ‘fit right in’ with the current NFL (Nefarious Felony Losers).
It’s starting to look like the NFL’s ‘powers that be’ have inadvertently done Tim a huge favor by not allowing him to continue any affiliation with them.
So at this point in time, QB-DT Sheriron Jones is looking like a pretty recruit good to me….
PS — So imoho, any HS recruit choosing to go to reFSUcks will deserve whatever happens to him and/or the criminole’s program while he’s there. He will also find out the academic difference between UF and Clown-U the first time his resume’ is in competition with a UF grad’s,,, the hard way.
da muddler Why do you even talk about the first so-called game? It was and continues to be completely meaningless. Your rant about Winston? Well, I don’t think that’s going to help beat him on the field. Also, high school statistics are meaningless, all of the players that are offered by schools like Florida are going to have great statistics, so what are you trying to prove? Jut because a player plays in his freshman year doesn’t mean he’s ready to be counted on. Vernon Hargreaves, for example, is the exception. The overwhelming majority that do play don’t start or play significant minutes. They play on special teams and get snaps in garbage time for the most part. You are in big trouble if you are counting on true freshmen, that’s a no-brainer.
I am surprised at you, though. You are Mr. Statistic, and you didn’t share any from the Alabama game. Is something wrong?
You talk schite yet again. All that matters for Shameous Jameous and the usual Clown-U criminoles is what happens on the field. Classroom (Deion Rules) and off the field embarrassments are SNAFSU ======== Your weak (no backup among the facts) claim that tFr can’t play or be counted on are total BS. The start/play all the time at UF. That’s where all of those early departure (NFL) rsSo’s & Jr’s come from. I will not waste time and space to list them, but anyone with a brain already know’s that you’re FoS on this.
Bama stats? Driskel threw for 32%. Add back the drops, WR incorrect routes, and the bad out of bounds call on Pittman and it would have been 61%, sustained drives, more scoring. But Gator’s offensive woes are ALL Driskel’s fault, according to the phootball genius types….
Muschamp at UF: 2011 – First Year, after having to dump 12 of Meyer’s problem-child types. Lost @ 13-1 LSU, 12-1 UA, @ 11-2 SCa, 10-4 UGA, 9-4 FSU, @ 8-5 AU. Beat tOSU in the Gator Bowl to finish 7-6 vs a Top 10 SoS including 8 Bowl teams. ===========
2012 – His 2nd year with a new OC and a different system vs 9 Bowl teams. Lost to 12-2 UGA and Sugar Bowl to 11-2 UL. Beat 12-2 ACC-C FSU, 11-2 aTm, 11-2 SCa, 10-3 LSU, 9-4 VU, 9-4 LaLaf, 8-5 BGSU. So the other stupid 13 SEC HBC’s voted Will the SEC CoY.======
2013 – 3rd year, with an NCAA All Time Record 72 lost starts to injury. Lost to 14-0 BCS-NC FSU, @ 12-2 Mz, @ 11-2 SCa, @ 10-3 LSU, @ 9-4 Mia, 9-4 VU, 8-5 UGA. So injury depleted by the end that they lost to GaSo in their last D2 game before moving up to D1 this year. Beat 4 teams, 2 that finished with better W/L records than UF did while playing yet another Top 5 SoS.
(while clown-U went to the BCS-NC game playing the #69 SoS) ===
He is 9-5 vs OoC Opponents — 3-0 vs kensucky (now 4-0)
3-0 vs Tenn: UF 33 – 23 Tn — UF 37 – 20 Tn — UF 31 – 17 Tn
He’s 2-1 vs VU, 1-2 vs FSUcks, 1-0 vs aTm, 1-1 vs Mizz, 1-2 SCa, 1-2 vs LSU. The only regular opponent he’s gone 0-3 against is UGly, (-3, -8, -4).
2014: Coming off a 4-8 season, UF/Will lost @ #3 Bama 42 – 21, however, #1 Undefeated ND lost to UA 42 – 14 at a neutral site.
Final stat: You, like clown-U, are a loser on most days imoho… :~p)